Combination incubator and hatcher



Jue 27, 1944. G. MARKEY 2,352,398

COMBINATION INCUBATOR AND HATCHER original Filed Nov. 1o, 193s ssheets-'sheet 1 i 4 n: n f

INVENTOR. @[0265 ME/(EY BY l Arroz/15) June 27, 1944, G. T. MARKEY2,352,398

COMBINATION INCUBATOR AND HATCHER 'original Filed Nov. 1o, 1939 5sheets-shet 2 June 27, 1944. G. T. MARKEY COMBINATION INCUBATOR ANDHATCHER original Filed Nov. 1o. 1959 3 sheets-sheet s IN VEN ZOR. f650,005 Ime/ffy Patented June 27, 1944 UNITE!) smrlts` PATENT OFFICEGeorge T. Markey, Fort Atkinson, Wis., assignor to James ManufacturingCompany, Fort Atkinson, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Originalapplication November 10, 1939, Serial No. 303,748. Divided and thisapplication August 24,1942, Serial No. 4,551,836

s claims.- (c1. 11s-'37) It is the intention that the present patentshall cover by. suitable expression in the appended claims, features ofpatentable novelty other than claimed in my pending application SerialNo.

303,748, filedv November 10, 1939, of whichl this.-

application forms a division. Y i

The present invention relates to a combination incubator and hatcherwithin` a single cabinet wherein all of the eggs may be kept in the samestage of incubation by supplying theproper heat moisture and ventilationto invigorate maximumv embryonic development. k

It will be understood that eggs inv the early stages of incubationshould have high humidity, low temperature and ventilation with someout` side air and that i'n the ladvanced stages of incubation, lowerhumidity, higher temperature and more ventilation vand outside air-areneeded.

It` is an o-bject of thel present invention, in addition to providingmeans for changing the heat, moisture and ventilation to suit the embryostage, to provide means whereby when the hatching stage is reached, theeggs may be placed in hatching trays and the heat, moisture and venltilation changed to suit hatching requirements.

It is an object of the present invention to Iirnprove the processofincubating and hatching and to completethese operations in a continuousprocess and in a single cabinet.

(3i. An object of the presentinvention is to provide a cabinet which, atthe end of each hatching period, may be conveniently l cleaned anddisinfected.

A further object of the present invention isto,

provide means for ltering thel circulating air and convenient-means forremoving the collected `material from the lters.

To these. and other useful ends, my invention consists of parts,combinations of parts, or their, equivalents, and -mode of operation, asherein` after set forth and claimed and shown inv-the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a transverse vertical section of my complete cabinet havingtherein incubating trays..

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of my improved cabinet havingtherein hatching trays.

Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section of the cabinet illustrated inFigure 2 with the door and all but one tray removed.

Fig. 4 is a fractional section taken on line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section of my improved cabinet taken on line 5-5of Figure'.-

Fig. 6 is a fractional top viewf of an incubating*Y tray illustratingtwo egg holding cages inv position.

Fig. 'lis a fractional end view of the incubating tray shown in Figure6, taken'on line 11 `of this' figure. Y ,Fig, 8 lis a fractionalhorizontal sectional View ticalsection for transferring the eggs fromthe incubating trays to the hatching trays by vmeans of .the cagesillustrated in Figures 6 and 7.

Fig. 11 is a vertical fractional section of the air duct showingtherein, in vertical perspective, the air iilter.

Fig. 12 is a transverse section of the air iilter shown in Figure 11. l

` As thus illustrated, the cabinet comprises a rear panel I0, a frontdoor which in its entirety is designated by reference character A, sidepanels Il and I2 and top and bottom panels I3 and I4. The panels anddoor are suitably insulated as is the custom in devices of the class. Inthe vari- 'ous figures, the insulating material in each of the parts isdesignated' by reference numeral I5. Door Ais provided with suitablehinges, rubber sealing gasket I6 and latching means (not shown) forsecurely binding the gasket so as to provide an air tight cabinet. DoorA is provided with an opening I'l which is preferably positioned at thevertical and horizontal center ofthe door.

-A fan motor I8 is positioned in opening I'l', the motor being slightlysmaller in" diameter than the opening thus to provide a relatively'small annular air inlet from the exterior into the cabinet. Adecorative cap I9 is securedv to the door and adapted to shield themotor and opening Il from View. Member I9 is securedv to the door bymeans of spaced supports 20 and suitable bolts, the supports beingpreferably adapted to hold member I 9 a short distance from the doorthus providing a narrow annular air inlet 2| having an area about equalto the annular air passageway around the motor.

Cap I9 may be supplied with suitable grille inlets for the passage ofair in which case' openings ZI may be eliminated or .reducedconsiderably in size. On the inner end of the shaft of motor I8, I mounta fan disc 22 having suitable blades.

I provide a partition 23 having'an'opening 24 positioned in front of andconcentric with fan 22. Member 23 hask preferably forwardly extendingflanges 25 which are secured todoor A vsecured to the door.

as illustrated in Figure 5 thus forming a vertical air duct 26. The topand bottom ends of member 23 are ared rearwardly as at 2l.

Directly above and below the top and bottom trays, I provide partitions28-28, one forming an air duct between the side walls and the top walland above the top tray and the other forming an air duct between theside walls and the bottom wall and below the bottom tray, the par-4titions having their front edges shaped to contact or embrace the topand bottom edges of member 23 (see Figures 2 and 5). The rear ends ofmembers 28 terminate on about the vertical plane of the rear ends of thetrays thus forming horizontal air ducts 29--29 which open into duct 26.By scrutinizing the drawings, it will be drawer-like to the positionshown in Figures 1, 2 and 3.

It will be seen that the trays, when in position, provide a considerablespace between their fronts and the central portion of member 23 (seeFigure 2). It will be seen that room is provided for the free passage ofthe air from fan 22 to the front ends of the trays as indicated byarrows and the air will be caused to move rearwardly between or throughthe trays.

Clearly after the trays are removed, racks B may also be removed bylifting latches 35, leaving the entire inner surface of the cabinetclear j for cleaning and disinfecting.

seen that when the door is closed, an air passageway will be formed fromthe rear of the trays to fan 22.

The shape of the blades of member 22 is such as will cause the air totravel in the direction indicated by arrows; thus it will be seen that asuitable volume of air will be caused to move between the hatching orincubating trays and return to the fan as indicated by arrows and that asmall quantity of air will be drawn into the cabinet through opening 2|and the space around the motor. Clearly the motor is cooled and a Aslight pressure is created in the cabinet.

Anvopening 30 is provided preferably in the top of the cabinet havingmeans (not shown) whereby the size of the opening may be regulated so asto control the quantity of air entering the cabinet through openingv Itwill be noted that the rear ends of the l trays are spaced a distancefrom the rear wall of the cabinet providing room for the mechanism whichtilts the cages and a vertical air passageway, the purpose of Whichwillbe understood by scrutinizing Figure 2.

Referring now specifically to Figures 3, 4 and 5. The cabinet and door,it will be observed, are provided with metal sheathings 3`| and 38. Thesheathing surfaces are smooth and have no permanentlyattached partsexcept small floor brackets, latches near the top of the cabinet andpartition 23 which is detachably Obviously the entire kinside of thecabinet may be easily cleaned and disinfected. y

I provide two racks-which in their entirety are designated by referencecharacter B,each rack consisting preferably of angle iron posts 3|-3|and being secured in spaced relation by means of spaced angle irons 32,the racks being vertically positioned as indicated in Figures 3 and 4.The distance between members 32 is suitable for the free reception ofhatching trays, the sides of the trays resting on the inwardly extendingflanges of these members (see Figure 4).y

Angle bars 3| are provided with spaced outwardly extending brackets 33which are adapted to hold the racks a short distance away from the sidewalls of the cabinet. The bottom ends of members 3| are fixed in theirpositions by means of brackets 34`which are secured to the floor of thecabinet and are adapted to cooperate with members 33 and gravity latches35 to hold the racks into position but provide convenient means fordetaching the racks.

I'provide inturned portions 36 on the rear end of angle irons 32 thus toprovide stops for the trays which are adapted to slide into the cabinetadjacent trays.

The incubating trays are, in their entirety, designated by referencecharacter C and the hatching trays are designated in their entirety by4reference character D, e'ach being about the same length as members 32.

The side and end walls of hatching trays D extend upwardy to within ashort distance of the Therefore there is not sufficient space left forproper circulation of air. The end walls of these trays are thereforeprovided with a large number of apertures as will hereinafter appear.

. Incubating trays C may be conventional com- `prising'egg holding'cagesas disclosed in my Patent Number 1,796,872, March 17, 1931 or they maybe similar to the cages illustrated in my Patent Number 2,267,473,issued December 23, 1941, and as illustratedin Figures 6` and 7 of thepresent application.

Trays C comprise frames having side members 40-40 and end members 4|-4|,the cages being spaced and pivotally mounted within this frame as isthecustom in devices of the class; thus when the trays C are in positionin the cabinet, as illustrated in Figure l, air will be caused tocirculate rearwardly between the trays and in Clearly the eggs will besurrounded by conditioned air which will return tothe fan as indicatedby arrows.

Trays D are preferably made from sheet metal having side walls 42-42 andends walls 43-43, the end walls having a, multiplicity of spacedopenings 44 allowing air to pass into and out of the trays through theseopenings.

Members 42 and 43 are provided with inturned flanges 45 which areadapted to support a screen bottom 46, the bottom fitting free betweenthe `plying the proper water level in the panl and means (not shown) areprovided for raising or lowering the front end of plate 53 so as tocause the air to more or less violently impinge the surface of the waterto preserve the proper humidity of the circulating air.

I provide means for heating the circulating air comprising an electricresister 54 which circles the motor and is preferably positioned in airduct 26 as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 5. I provide a thermostat andswitch 55 with suitable connections (not shown) to member 54 and to theelectric supply whereby the thermostat will control the current suppliedto member 54. If desired, motor I8 may also be controlled by this switchso the resister and motor operate simultaneously on the on and offprinciple.

The resister, thermostat and electrical connections to the motor are toowell known to require further description.

I prefer to operate the motor continuously so there is a continuous aircirculation in the cabinet but the resister is preferably controlledintermittently as is the custom in incubators of the class. The cages intrays C are adapted to be rocked back and forth at stated intervals asis the custom in incubators.

I provide shafts 55 which extend through one of the cabinet walls andhaving thereon a hand grip. Brackets 51 are suitably positioned withinthe cabinet, secured to shafts 56 and are adapted to detachably engage asliding member 58 (see Figure 6), the sliding member having an operatingconnection to the cages; thus the cages may be rocked at desiredintervals by gripping the hand piece on shaft 56.

The operation of my device is as follows: An entire setting of eggs maybe placed in incubating trays C which will be contacted by the warmmoving air as already described. Suitable moisture will be provided anda suitable temper-ature maar he maintained during the incubating period.

At hatching time, or say on the 19th day, trays C may be removed one ata time and the eggs placed in hatching trays D which are placed in thecabinet as illustrated in Figure 2. The transfer of the eggs from theincubating trays to the hatching trays may be by hand in the usualmanner or if cages, as illustrated in Figures 6 and 'l are supplied,then the hatching trays may be positioned over wood blocks 59 so thescreen 46 is held near the top of the tray as illustrated. Next, tray Cis placed over tray D and the eggs released as indicated in Figure l0,after which tray C is removed and when tray D is lifted, the screen:

Cil

taut, holding the large end of the sack against the inlet end of member23; thus it will be seen that all air passing into duct 26 must firstpass through the filters.

When it is necessary to clean the filters, all that is required is toopen the door, turn crank 64 so Ias to release hooks 62 and remove thelter from the duct. Clearly it is an easy matter to clean the downl andother material from the inside of the filters and again replace them intheir position as illustrated in Figure 2.

It will be seen that at very low cost I have provided air filteringmeans which, if properly taken care of, will last practically the lifeof the incubator and incur no cost at all for upkeep.

It will be seen that I have provided a unitary incubating and hatchingcabinet wherein the proper temperature :and humidity of the circulatingair may be supplied at all stages of incubation and hatching; that thecab-inet will be efflcient and economical; that the eggs may betransferred from incubating to hatching trays with minimum labor andthat after the completion of the hatching period, all of the partswithin the cabinet may be removed and the cabinet cleaned anddisinfected preparatory for another setting of eggs and that whileinoperation, the temperature and humidity of the air are always in.complete control of the operator and that more or less fresh air may becaused to mingle with the circulating air according to the wishes of theoperator.

Attention is called to the fact that the blades on the fan disc 22 areplaced between partition 23 and the disc forming a fan that will actcentrifugally to direct air through opening 24 and discharge itoutwardly in :all directions as indicated by double pointed arrows inFigure 5. The

. air thus discharged will move rearwardly between It is very necessaryin my device to lter the circulating Iair, particularly during thehatching period. I provide simple, inexpensive and practicallyindestructible means for the purpose as follows:

I provide open end fabric sacks which, in their entirety, are designatedby reference character E. The open ends of these sacks are provided withmeans whereby they cannot be pulled into the air duct 26. This may beaccomplished preferably by means of a wire frame work to which thefabric is secured and having a size somewhat larger than the open end ofthe duct. These members may be made of suitable fabric material and arepreferably V-shaped as illustrated in Figures 11 and l2. The side andend walls of the sacks converge at about the angle shown in thesefigures.

The apex of the sack is provided with a wire rod 6l to which preferablytwo or more spaced hooks 62 are secured. I provide a cranked rod 63, theends of which protrude through members 25 one end having a crank 64.

I provide a stop 65 on member 25 and position this stop so when thecrank is moved to its lowest position and slightly past the center,member 64 contacts this stop.

Member 63 is positioned so when the crank is in its normal position,member E will be stretched or through all of the trays and will thenreturn through ducts 29 to filter E and then through duct 26 to the fan.

The action of the fan blades and disc 22 will be such as will cause aslight vacuum lbetween the disc and kthe front of the trays or water pan50; thus there will be a slight reverse current of air in the center ofthe cabinet toward the disc caused 'by the air as it is discharged fromthe edge of the disc. The movement of the air is clearly indicated bysingle and double pointed arrows in Figures l, 2 and 5.

Before loading the incubating trays for the rsttime and placing them inthe cabinet. it will 'be understood that it is desirable to operate theair circulating. heating and humidifying device for a number of hours,or until the proper temperature and humidity are secured. This isnecessary largely because during the operation of preparing the cabinet,and while adjusting the parts, a harmful condition at times may exist.After the device is once properly adjusted, heated and operated., allthat is necessary is to slightly change adjustments as needed for bestresults. Furthermore it is well to have the device properly prepared forincubating before loading so as to more definitely determine the pippingor hatching time. Clearly slight changes in temperature and humidity maybe made during the incubating and hatching period as dictated byexperience for `best results.

Having thus shown and described my invention, I claim:

1. A device of the class described, comprising a cabinet having a door,a number of trays positioned drawer-like in said cabinet, their rear andfront ends being a distance from the rear wall of the cabinet and fromsaid door, the top and bottom trays being spaced a distance from the topand bottom walls of the cabinet, a motor positioned in an opening insaid door `and having a fan, the forward edge of which is positionedbetween said door and the front ends of said trays, a partition securedto said door positioned adjacent the forward edge of said fan forming anair duct, a portion of the top and bottom of the partition being flaredrearwardly so its ends terminate adjacent the vertical plane of thefront ends of said trays and adjacent the top and bottom thereof, and anopening in said partition concentric with said fan and adapted to forman inlet therefor, said fan having means whereby air will be caused totravel between and around said trays to the 4upper and lower ends ofsaid air duct and through said duct to said fan.

2. A device as recited in claim 1 including; partitions in said cabinetpositioned adjacent the top and bottom of said top and bottom trays, thefront ends registering with the inlet ends of said air duct, and theirrear ends registering with the rear ends of said trays whereby7 airpassageways are formed from the rear of the trays to the inlet ends ofsaid air duct.

3. A device as recited in claim l including; the opening in said door inwhich said motor is positioned being slightly larger than the motor tothereby form an annular air inlet, and an outlet opening remote fromsaid inlet whereby the quantity of air entering said annular inlet willbe discharged through said last opening.

4. A device as recited in claim 1 including; a water pan positioned inrear of said fan and between trays and having a deector adapted to causethe air to impinge the water in said pan.

5. A device as recited in claim l including; removably secured air lterspositioned in the inlet ends of said air duct whereby the recirculatingair will be ltered before leaving said fan.

6. A device as recited in claim l including; air lters positioned in theinlet ends of said air duct comprising open end fabric sacks positionedin the inlet ends of said air ducts, the open ends being adapted to llthe inlet ends of said air duct, and means for detachably securing saidsacks into position whereby they may be removed and cleaned andreplaced.

7. An incubator and hatcher of the class described; comprising incombination an elongated vertically positioned cabinet having a door inits front substantially the width and length of the chamber therein, anumber of trays positioned in the cabinet in vertically spaced relationwith their fronts and rears positioned a distance from said door andfrom the rear wall of the cabinet and arranged to be removed or replaceddrawer like when the door is opened, the upper and lower trays beingpositioned a short distance from the upper and lower walls of thecabinet plates adjacent the upper and lower trays and being spaced adistance from the upper and lower walls of the cabinet forming air ductsfor substantially the length of the trays, an air duct formed by aflanged plate with the flanges attached to the sides of the door and itsends being arranged for the reception of air from the front ends of saidair ducts, an opening in said plate positioned substantially midway itssides and ends, a fan adjacent said opening and means for driving thefan, said anged plate and the blades of the fan being shaped andpositioned whereby the air moved by the fan will Abe caused to passbetween the trays and substantially parallel thereto and through saidair ducts and opening.

8. A unitary incubator and hatcher comprising a housing having anopenable wall, a motor mounted in said openable wall and so positionedtherein as to provide a substantial space between a portion of the motorand the Wall to permit passage of air from one side of the wall to theother and across the motor, a fan having a shaft connected to the motor,a partition attached to the openable wall having a substantial openingsurrounding the shaft, the fan and motor being on opposite sides of thepartition, tray supports in the housing adapted to receive incubating orhatching trays on the supports in superposed relation, air deectingplates spaced from the walls and positioned between the uppermost andlowermost trays and their adjacent walls, said partition having portionsflared away from the openable wall and terminating adjacent theuppermost and lowermost plates, a humidier tray within the housingsubstantially at a level with the fan, a deflector plate above thehumidifying tray, said trays and plates being spaced from each other andfrom the walls of the housing whereby air moved by the fan will passbetween the trays over the humidifier and between the plates, partitionvand walls and whereby air from outside the housing will be mixed withthe moving air within the housing, said housing being provided with anopening for discharge of excess air.

GEORGE T. MARKEY.

